Automatic initiation of a response action when an event associated with an item in transit is based on logistical node scan data

ABSTRACT

A method includes processing an event data associated with an item in transit between a source location and a destination location based on a scan data of a logistical node between the source location and the destination location. The server determines if the event data associated with the item in transit between the source location and the destination location based on the scan data of the logistical node between the source location and the destination location is associated with a response action defined in a matching table by the multimodal communication server using a processor and a memory. The server automatically initiates the response action when the event data associated with the item in transit between the source location and the destination location based on the scan data of the logistical node between the source location and the destination location is defined in the matching table on the multimodal communication server.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This disclosure claims priority to, and incorporates herein by referencethe entire specification of U.S. Provisional Patent application No.61/726,555 filed Nov. 14, 2012 and titled TRIGGER ACTIVATION BY WAY OF ASCAN OF A MAIL PIECE.

FIELD OF TECHNOLOGY

This disclosure relates generally to multimodal communication serverand, more particularly, to a method, a device and/or a system ofautomatic initiation of a response action when an event associated withan item in transit is based on logistical node scan data.

BACKGROUND

An item in transit (e.g., a letter, a package, a pallet, a perishableitem, a non-perishable item, a medical product) may travel through asystem outside a control of a sender (e.g., a seller) and a recipient(e.g., a customer) of the item in transit. For example, the sender mayuse a mailing center (e.g., a third party logistics provider) to preparea number of items to be sent to a group of recipients. A carrier (e.g.,the United States Postal Service®, United Parcel Service®, FedEx®) mayroute the item in transit through a series of logistical nodes (e.g.,intermediate locations between a location of the sender and a locationof the recipient).

The recipient may get upset when things they order arrive late ordamaged. The sender may be blamed for mistakes made by the mailingcenter and/or the carrier. The recipient may not contact the sender toexplain what happened. Further, a confirmation notice associated withthe item in transit may seem impersonal. Therefore, the recipient maydiscard the confirmation notice.

The recipient may not be able to track a present location of the item intransit. Even when the mailing center provides a tracking codeassociated with the item in transit, the tracking code may not be easilydiscoverable by the recipient (e.g., may be buried in emails). In somesituations, the recipient may forget that the item in transit is to bereceived. As a result, the recipient may not be available to receive theitem in transit when it arrives. This may cause the item in transit tobe lost, damaged (e.g., by encountering bad weather), and/or stolen.Therefore, the sender may lose a valuable opportunity to build arelationship with the recipient as the item in transit moves from thesender to the recipient through the carrier. Therefore, the recipientmay lose trust in the sender. As a result, valuable current and futurerevenue opportunities between the sender and the recipient may be lost.

SUMMARY

Disclosed are a method, a device and/or a system of initiation of aresponse action when an event data associated with an item in transitbetween a source location and a destination location based on a scandata of a logistical node between the source location and thedestination location is defined in a matching table of a multimodalcommunication server.

In one aspect, a method of a multimodal communication server includesprocessing an event data associated with an item in transit between asource location and a destination location based on a scan data of alogistical node between the source location and the destinationlocation. The method determines if the event data associated with theitem in transit between the source location and the destination locationbased on the scan data of the logistical node between the sourcelocation and the destination location is associated with a responseaction defined in a matching table by the multimodal communicationserver using a processor and a memory. In addition, the methodautomatically initiates the response action when the event dataassociated with the item in transit between the source location and thedestination location based on the scan data of the logistical nodebetween the source location and the destination location is defined inthe matching table on the multimodal communication server.

The method may process a serial number and/or a destination data fromthe scan data. A set of items of a mailing center may be associatedbased on the serial number. A recipient may be associated based on thedestination data and/or the serial number. A response data may bemodified based on an action of the mailing center having partitionedaccess to a record of the matching table associated with the serialnumber and/or the destination data. An origin data may be processed fromthe scan data. A sender may be associated based on the origin dataand/or the serial number. The response data may be modified based onanother action of the sender having partitioned access to the record ofthe matching table associated with the serial number and/or thedestination data.

The serial number may identify a mailing center name, a mailing groupname, a mailing center location, and/or a time stamp of the item intransit. The origin data may identify a sender name, a sender zip code,a sender's city, and/or a sender address. The destination data mayidentify a recipient name, a recipient zip code, a recipient city,and/or a recipient address. The item in transit may include a QuickResponse (QR) code printed on a packaging of the item in transit that isautomatically associated with a different response action, wherein thedifferent response action is a uniform resource locator (URL) addressassociated with a promotional message, a multimedia file, an automaticdialing of the sender, and/or an automatic dialing of the mailingcenter.

The scan data of the logistical node between the source location and/orthe destination location may include an initial scan at the sourcelocation and/or a final scan at the destination location. A telephoniccommunication may be established between the recipient and/or the senderbased on the response action associated with the event data. A textmessage communicated to the recipient on behalf of the mailing centerand/or the sender may be generated based on the response actionassociated with the event data. A stored multimedia data may becommunicated to the recipient, the sender, and/or the mailing centerbased on the response action associated with the event data. The textmessage may be an arrival notification, an elapsed-time notification, atime-remaining notification, a status notification, an item conditionnotification, a temperature notification, a moisture reading, a weathernotification, and/or a custom notification generated by the senderand/or the mailing center based on the response action associated withthe event data.

The stored multimedia data may be an audio file, a video file, anelectronic document, email content, and/or a custom multimedia datagenerated by the sender and/or the mailing center based on the responseaction associated with the event data. A first communication between themultimodal communication server and/or a first telephonic device of therecipient may be initiated. The text message and/or the storedmultimedia data may be generated when the recipient the firstcommunication to the first telephonic device of the recipient isunanswered. A second communication between the multimodal communicationserver and/or a second telephonic device of the sender may be initiatedwhen the recipient answers the first communication between themultimodal communication server and/or the first telephonic device. Thefirst communication and/or the second communication may be bridged toenable the recipient to communicate with the sender when both therecipient and/or the sender are communicatively coupled with themultimodal communication server through the first communication and/orthe second communication respectively. A financial payment to themailing center and/or the sender may be automatically initiated based onthe response action associated with the event data.

Additional information from the recipient may be requested based on theresponse action associated with the event data when the item in transitbetween the source and/or the destination is scanned at the logisticalnode between the source location and/or the destination location.Another physical mailing of a different item may be automaticallyinitiated from and/or to any one of the sender, the recipient, themailing center, a different sender, and/or a different recipient basedon the response action associated with the event data when the item intransit between the source and/or the destination is scanned at thelogistical node between the source location and/or the destinationlocation.

In another aspect, a system includes a set of intermediate servers atlogistical nodes between a source location and a destination location tocreate a scan data from the item in transit between the source locationand the destination location, a network, and a multimodal communicationserver communicatively coupled with each of the set of intermediateservers of logistical nodes between the source location and thedestination location through the network.

The multimodal communication server determines if the event dataassociated with an item in transit between the source location and thedestination location based on the scan data of the logistical nodebetween the source location and the destination location is associatedwith a response action defined in a matching table by the multimodalcommunication server using a processor and a memory. In addition, themultimodal communication server automatically initiates the responseaction when the event data associated with the item in transit betweenthe source location and the destination location based on the scan dataof the logistical node between the source location and the destinationlocation is defined in the matching table on the multimodalcommunication server.

In yet another aspect, a multimodal communication server includes aprocessor communicatively coupled with a memory, a matching module todetermine if an event data associated with the item in transit betweenthe source location and the destination location based on a scan data ofthe logistical node between the source location and the destinationlocation is associated with a response action defined in a matchingtable of the multimodal communication server using the processor and thememory, and a response module to automatically initiate the responseaction when the event data associated with the item in transit betweenthe source location and the destination location based on the scan dataof the logistical node between the source location and the destinationlocation is defined in the matching table of the multimodalcommunication server.

The multimodal communication server may also include an analysis moduleto process a serial number and/or a destination data from the scan data,to associate a set of items associated with a mailing center based onthe serial number and to associate a recipient based on the destinationdata and/or the serial number. The analysis module may also process anorigin data from the scan data and associate a sender based on theorigin data and/or the serial number.

The multimodal communication server may also have a modification moduleto modify the response data based on an action of the mailing centerhaving partitioned access to a record of the matching table associatedwith the serial number and/or the destination data. The modificationmodule may also modify the response data based on another action of thesender having partitioned access to the record of the matching tableassociated with the serial number and/or the destination data.

The methods and systems disclosed herein may be implemented in any meansfor achieving various aspects, and may be executed in a form of anon-transitory machine-readable medium embodying a set of instructionsthat, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform any ofthe operations disclosed herein. Other features will be apparent fromthe accompanying drawings and from the detailed description thatfollows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of this invention are illustrated by way of example andnot limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings, in whichlike references indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a network view of a multimodal communication server initiatinga response data sent to a sender or recipient in response to an eventdata and a scan data generated from the scan of an item in transit as ispasses a logistical node.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the multimodal communication server ofFIG. 1 that generates the response data as a reaction to receipt of thescan data and event data, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of both mailing center server of FIG. 1 thattemporarily houses the scan data, as well as an exploded view of some ofthe scan data's individual components, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a bidirectional communication response action view that, inresponse to a scan data, shows the multimodal communication server ofFIG. 2 initializing a first telephone call to a recipient, a secondtelephone call to a sender, and then bridging the connection to create abi-directional communication between the recipient and sender, accordingto one embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the setting or modification of event, matchingor response data by the sender and/or mailing center of FIG. 1 withinthe multimodal communication server of FIG. 2, according to oneembodiment.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the scan data of FIG. 3, the event data of andmatching table of FIG. 2 in table form generating the response data ofwithin the multimodal communication server, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating a concept in which a trigger event isinitiated based on a scan of either a carrier barcode and/or a readingof a qr code that is physically placed on the item in transit to createa media communication, according to one embodiment.

Other features of the present embodiments will be apparent from theaccompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Example embodiments, as described below, may be used to provide amethod, a system and/or a device of an automatic initiation of aresponse action when an event associated with an item in transit isbased on logistical node scan data. Although the present embodimentshave been described with reference to specific example embodiments, itwill be evident that various modifications and changes may be made tothese embodiments without departing from the broader spirit and scope ofthe various embodiments.

FIG. 1 is a network view of a multimodal communication server initiatinga response data in response to a scan data generated from the scan of anitem in transit as is passes a logistical node.

Particularly, FIG. 1 illustrates a multimodal communication network 150,according to one embodiment. The embodiment of FIG. 1 describes amultimodal communication server 100, an event data 101, a scan data 102,a cellular network 103, a mailing center server 104, a set ofintermediate servers 105, an item in transit 106, a QR code 107, aserial number 108, a network 109, a source location 110, a destinationlocation 112, a group of logistical nodes 114A through 114N, an initialscan 116, a final scan 118, a response data 200, a response action 122,a sender device 123, a sender phone 125, a recipient device 127, arecipient phone 129, a QR code scan 130, a QR code scan data 132, asender 140, a mailing center 142, and a recipient 144.

The multimodal communication server 100 may receive the event data 101and the scan data 102 both generated from the scanning of the serialnumber 108 on an item in transit 106 as it travels from the sourcelocation 110 to the destination location 112 through a series of thelogistical nodes 114A through 114N. The item in transit 106 may havebeen sent by a sender 140 which contracted with a mailing center 142 tosend the item to a recipient 144.

The multimodal communication server 100 may provide enriched mechanismsby which the sender 140 communicates with a potential recipient of theitem in transit 106. For example, the multimodal communication server100 may enable the sender 140 to provide higher levels of customerservice to the recipient 144 by allowing the sender to contact not onlythe recipient with updates about their package as it traverses multiplenodes between a sending location and a receiving location, but alsocommunicate with third parties that are affiliated with the transaction.For example, multiple interested parties can be informed when thepackage arrives at different locations with a distribution supply chain,such that the recipient and interested parties are apprised as to theprogress of a shipment. Furthermore, bidirectional communications mayautomatically be established between the sender, the third parties,and/or the recipient at appropriate times during the transit of thepackage.

Once generated, the event data 101 and the scan data 102 may move alongpath circle 1 from scanning equipment at the logistical node 114 to aset of intermediate servers 105 and then to the network 109. The eventdata 101 and the scan data 102 may then move further along path circle1, traveling to the mailing center server 104. The scan data 102 maymove along circle 2 back to the network 109 to the multimodalcommunication server 100. Once there, the multimodal communicationserver may associate the event data 101 and the scan data 102 with theset of instructions to generate response data 200 and initiate responseaction 122, as described in further detail in FIG. 2 below. Alternately,a QR code scan 130 of a QR code 107 on the item in transit 106 maygenerate a QR code scan data 132 that moves along circle 3 through thenetwork 109 to the multimodal communication server 100. The QR code scandata 132 may also initiate the response action 122 or a differentresponse action (not shown).

The response data 200 may move along circle 4 through the network 109 toa sender device 123 (e.g. a computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone), arecipient device 127 (e.g. a computer, laptop, tablet, smartphone). Theresponse data 200 may also move along circle 4 through the network 109to the cellular network 103 to a sender phone 125 or a recipient phone129. Alternatively, the multimodal communication server 100 may send theresponse data 200 directly through the cellular network 103 to thesender phone 125 and the recipient phone 129 (not shown).

The sender 140 may be a business that wishes to send mail, postcards orpackages to the recipient 144. For example, the sender 140 may be aretail shop (e.g. a local business, a department store chain, arestaurant franchisee), a wholesale establishment (e.g. a office supplycompany), service provider (e.g. a doctor's office, a dentist office, ahospital, a law firm, an accounting firm), or an internet business (e.g.Amazon.com®, eBay®). The mailing center 142 may be a direct mailingcompany specializing in direct mail design, direct mail printing,mailing lists, response tracking and bulk mail preparation. The mailingcenter 142 may be a facility that presorts and the mail items to allowhighly automated mail processing, both in bulk and piecewise, inprocessing facilities that may be referred to as bulk mailing centers(BMCs). For example, the seller may contract with the mailing center 142with the instruction to send letters to a large number of recipientsbased on a customer mailing list of the sender 140. The mailing center142 may also be any business that sends mail or packages on behalf ofanother or on behalf of itself. Therefore, in one embodiment a sender140 may be an entity of such a size that it contains its own mailingcenter 142. For example, Amazon.com® may have an internal mailing center142.

The recipient 144 may be a business, an individual or group of people ata residential location, an entity (e.g. a corporation, a professionalcorporation, a partnership, a limited liability company), a commoncarrier (such as UPS®, FedEx®, DHL®, the United States Postal Service®),a government body or a government agency. It should also be appreciatedthat in one embodiment the recipient 144 may be any of the types ofpeople or entities that comprise the seller.

The network 109 may be the internet protocol network (IP network), awide area network, a local area network or a cellular telephone network,or the internet generally. The cellular network 103 may include mobilenetworks and wireless network cells distributed over land or satellite,each cell served by at least one fixed-location transceiver, known as acell site or base station.

The mailing center server 104 may be a server that contains a processorand memory. The mailing center server 104 will be discussed in detail inconjunction with FIG. 3.

The item in transit 106 may be sent by the mailing center 142 and may bereceived by the recipient 144. In one embodiment the item in transit 106may include a letter, a postcard, or package. In another embodiment, theitem in transit 106 may include a pallet, a shipping container, or anyother good or raw material. The item in transit 106 may also include aperishable item (e.g. fruit, shellfish packed in dry ice), plants (e.g.a bouquet of flowers) or chemicals. Further, the item in transit 106 mayinclude medical product such as vaccines, organs or tissues fortransplant, or any other time-sensitive medical items (e.g. aradioactive contrast dye with a short half-life).

The serial number 108 may be a unique code (e.g. a unique identifier)assigned for identification of a single unit. Although called a number,the serial number 108 may include letters and symbols, includingcharacters from any language such as Chinese or Russian. In oneembodiment, the serial number 108 may be unique only for a temporarytime period enough for the item in transit 106 to be conveyed form thesource location 110 to the destination location 112. For example, theunique portion of the serial number 108 applied by the mailing center142 may be re-used after a set period of time (e.g. three days,forty-five days, one year) to be applied a new item in transit 106.Therefore, in one embodiment, the non-uniqueness of the serial number108 with respect to a long period of time does not disruptidentification of the item in transit 106 because the serial number 108is unique within the relatively short period in which it is in transit.

The serial number 108 may be a manufacturer's serial number (MSN) or maybe a QR code that is the same or similar to the QR code 107. The serialnumber 108 may also be a barcode or other optical machine-readablerepresentation of data relating to the object to which it is attached.For example, the serial number 108 may be a tracking number assigned bya common carrier (e.g. UPS®, FedEx®, DHL®). Further, the serial number108 may be in a form readable other than by optical equipment scanningequipment. For example the serial number 108 may be contained in aradio-frequency identification (RFID) tag and scanned using radio waves.

In one embodiment, the serial number 108 may be an Intelligent Mail®Barcode (IMb) or Intelligent Mail® Package Barcode (IMpb) used by theUnited States Postal Service (USPS®). For example, the IMb may contain anumber of digits translated into bars that are easily optically scanned.The digits may be a tracking code containing information about a servicetype purchased from the USPS (e.g. overnight mail, ordinary first-classmail), a mailer identification (e.g. the sender 140 or mailing center142), a mailer serial number identification (e.g. a unique numberapplied to the item in transit 106 by the sender 140 or the mailingcenter 142 to distinguish it from any other mail piece within a set timeperiod), and/or a delivery point zip code (e.g. a 5, 9 or 11 digitrouting number). The serial number may be such that a serial numberutilized for the item in transit 106 may not be used for any other mailpieces for a period of 45 days.

The QR code 107 may be a quick response code or any other 2D barcode.The QR code 107 may be a matrix barcode that uses one or two-dimensionsto represent information. The QR code 107 may be affixed to thepackaging (e.g. the exterior of an envelope, the exterior of a box) ofthe item in transit 106 or contained within. The QR code scan 130, maybe conducted by an employee of the carrier service or may be

The scan data 102 may include any information that may be containedwithin the serial number 108. Further, the scan data 102 may includeinformation added by the scanning equipment at the logistical node 114or information generated by the intermediate servers 105 attached to thelogistical nodes 114A through 114N. For example, the scan data 102 mayinclude a destination data (e.g. the intended destination or path of theitem in transit 106), an origin data (e.g. the location the item intransit 106 was sent from or the time of mailing). The scan data 102 mayalso include information about the type of logistical node 114 thatgenerated the scan data 102, including the time and location of thescan.

The scan data 102 may also include information about the item in transit106 such as the processing status, the type of facility effecting theprocessing and the type of equipment accomplishing the processing. Forexample, the scan data 102 may include that information that the item intransit 106 has been processed in Charlotte, N.C. at a USPS® sectionalcenter facility (SCF) by a particular kind of automated mail sortingequipment. The scan data 102 and its components is further discussed inconjunction with FIG. 3.

The QR code scan data 132 may be any information or data included in thescan data 102. It may also include information generated by the scanningdevice (e.g. the cell phone of the recipient, a specialized scanneremployed by businesses) such as the time, date and/or geospatiallocation of the QR code scan 130. The QR code 107 may include QR codescan data 132 that comprises a secure protocol (e.g., https URL) or aunique web page.

The group of logistical nodes 114A through 114N may be physicallocations where the item in transit 106 must pass through on its pathfrom the source location 110 to the destination location 112. In otherwords, in one embodiment the logistical nodes 114 may be a point atwhich pathways intersect or branch within the management of the flow ofthe item in transit 106 between the point of origin and the point ofreceipt. The logistical nodes 114 may occur at mail processingfacilities, on route between processing facilities (e.g. as the item intransit 106 is being loaded onto a truck or plane to be shipped to adifferent processing facility), or on local mail delivery trucks (e.g.as the item in transit 106 is going out for delivery). Specifically, inone embodiment, the logistical nodes 114 include USPS® DSCF, DNDC, DADC,and DDU processing facilities. In an alternative embodiment, thelogistical nodes 114 may include peripheral nodes occurring just afterthe item in transit 106 inters the logistical stream or just before theitem in transit 106 leaves the logistical stream.

The set of intermediate servers 105 may be associated with one or morelogistical nodes 114. In one embodiment, one or more intermediateservers 105 are communicatively coupled to one or more logistical nodes114. The intermediate servers 105 may temporarily store or participatein generating the event data 101 and the scan data 102 before exportingor exporting the event data 101 and scan data 102 to the network 109.The file within the set of intermediate servers 105 may be uploadedthrough the network 109 to the Mailing Center Server 104 as a FileTransfer Protocol file (FTP file).

In one embodiment, the source location 110 may be any location at ornear where the item in transit 106 enters a logistical steam to travelto the recipient 144. For example, the source location may be anunattended mailbox where the item in transit 106 is deposited, aphysical location where agents of the mailing center 142 hand mail to anattended at a counter, or an initial piece of processing equipmentassociated with the first logistical node 114 encountered by the item intransit 106. An initial scan 116 of the QR code 107 or the serial number108 may take place at or near the source location 110 to generate theevent data 101 and/or the scan data 102.

A destination location 112 may be any location at or near the locationthat the recipient 144 is to take possession of the item in transit 106.For example, the destination location 112 may be a residential mailbox,an office mailbox, a post office box (P.O. Box) and a mail receiptfacility (e.g. for a large company, a college campus, governmentagency). A final scan 118 of the QR code 107 or the serial number 108may take place at or near the destination location 112 to generate thescan data 102. For example, the final scan 118 may occur at a logisticalnode 114 near the end of the logistical chain or when an agent of thecarrier scans the QR code 107 or the serial number 108 when the item intransit 106 is out for delivery or is in the process of transfer topossession and/or custody of the recipient 144. Further, the final scan118 may be accomplished by the recipient 144, for example by scanningthe QR code 107 with the recipient device 127 or the recipient phone129. In an alternative embodiment, the final scan 118 may be anout-for-delivery scan.

The response action 122 may convey the response data 200 to the sender140, the mailing center 142, the recipient 144 or additional parties(not shown in FIG. 1). The response action 122 and the response data 200are described in further detail in conjunction with the description ofFIG. 2, below.

The sender device 123 and the recipient device 127 may be any devicecapable of receiving through the network 109 a multimedia message, textmessage, email communication, phone call, or any other form ofelectronic communication. For example, the sender device may be acomputer, a tablet or a smartphone. The sender phone 125 and therecipient phone 129 may be any device communicatively coupled to thecellular network 103, for example cellular phones, pagers, orsmartphones.

In another embodiment, the item in transit 106 may contain an envelopeor box that has a different serial number and/or QR code printed on it.When the recipient places the return envelope back into the logisticalsteam (e.g. sends it back to the sender, sends it to another person),new scan data are generated to initiate new response data.

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the multimodal communication server ofFIG. 1 that generates the response data as a reaction to receipt of thescan data and event data, according to one embodiment.

Particularly, FIG. 2 illustrates a multimodal communication server view250, according to one embodiment. The embodiment of FIG. 2 furtherdescribes a response module 201, an event database 202, a processor 204,a memory 206, a matching database 208, a matching module 210, ananalysis module 212, a modification module 214, a matching table 216, arecord 218, a uniform resource locator (URL) 220, a promotional message221, a multimedia file 222, an automatic dialing of the sender 223, anautomatic dialing of the mailing center 224, a telephonic communication225, a text message 226, a stored multimedia data 227, an arrivalnotification 228, an elapse-time notification 229, a time-remainingnotification 230, a status notification 231, an item conditionnotification 232, a temperature notification 233, a moisture reading234, a weather notification 235, a custom notification 236, an audiofile 237, a video file 238, an electronic document 239, an email content240, a custom multimedia data 241, a financial payment 242, a requestfor additional information 243, and an initiating of another physicalmailing 244.

In FIG. 2, in one embodiment, the event data 101, scan data 102, and/orthe QR Code scan data 132 enter an event database 202 within themultimodal communication server 100. The multimodal communication server100 may include a processor 204 and a memory 206. In one embodiment, theevent data 101 and the scan data 102 may be compared to a recordcontained in a matching table 216 by a matching module 210. The matchingtable may be stored in a matching database 208. A response module 201may then generate the appropriate response action 122 by sending aresponse data 200.

In one embodiment, the matching module 210 compares the serial number108 of the scan data 102 with the record 118 in the matching table 216.If a record correlating with the serial number 108 is present, theresponse module 201 may generate the response action 122 associated withrecord 218, sending the response data 200 to the sender 140, mailingcenter 142, recipient 144, or any other additional party, based on thereceiver(s) specified in the record 218. In one embodiment, then, thematching module 210 and the response module 201 may allow the event data101 and/or the scan data 102 generated by a logistical sequence totrigger the conveyance of the response data 200 to a person, business orentity specified in the record 218 of the matching table 216.

The response data 200 may contain many elements. The response data 200may include a uniform resource locator 220 directed to a website orother location on the internet. In another embodiment, the response data200 may include a promotional message send through a variety of means(e.g. text message, email, a prerecorded phone call). The response data200 may also include a multimedia file 222 that may use a combination ofdifferent content forms including a combination of text, audio, stillimages, animation, video, or interactivity content forms. The responsedata 200 may also be the automatic dialing of the sender 223 or theautomatic dialing of the mailing center 224, for example to informeither that the item in transit 106 has reached a certain logisticalnode 114. The response data 200 may also be the data associated with aninitial scan 116 or a final scan 118. For example, in one embodiment aresponse data may be to report to the recipient 144 the scan data 102from an initial scan 116 so that the recipient 144 may know that theitem in transit 106 has been placed in the mail.

The response data 200 may also be a telephonic communication 225 to thesender 140, the mailing center 142, recipient 144 or another person orentity. For example, the telephonic communication 225 may be aprerecorded audio message that is communicated through the cellularnetwork 103 to a sender phone 125 or a recipient phone 129. In analternate embodiment, the response data 200 may be a text message 126.The text message 126 may, for example, include information contained inthe event data 101 or the scan data 102 of the item in transit 106 suchas the serial number 108, or the location of the last encounteredlogistical node 114. The response data 200 may also be a storedmultimedia data 227. The stored multimedia data may include acombination of different content forms or digital file formats includinga combination of text, audio, pictures, animation, video, orinteractivity content forms. The notification data 120 may also containthe arrival notification 228. For example, in one embodiment thenotification data 120 may send a notification that a package has arrivedon the doorstep of the recipient 144, or that a letter has been arrivedat the final mail processing facility before it will be hand-deliveredby a mailman or mailwoman.

The notification data 120 may also contain the elapse-time notification229 that may, for example, be the amount of time an item in transit 106has been in transit. In yet another embodiment, the notification data120 may be the time-remaining notification 230. For example, thetime-remaining notification 230 may estimate the amount of time beforethe item in transit 106 will reach the recipient 144 based on whichlogistical node 114 was last encountered by the item in transit 106.

The notification data 120 may also include, generally, the statusnotification 231. The status notification 231 may include any of theinformation contained in the event data 101, the scan data 102, thematching table 216, or another type of response data 200 (e.g. atime-remaining notification). The notification data 120 may also includean item condition notification 232. The item condition notification 232may describe, for example, whether the item in transit 106 has been lostor damaged.

An alternative embodiment, the notification data 120 may include thetemperature reading 233 and/or the moisture reading 234. For example,the event data 101 may include a temperature and/or moisture reading ofthe environment of the item in transit 106 that may be incorporated intothe notification data 120. In another embodiment, the event data 101 mayinclude a temperature and/or moisture reading of the interior of theitem in transit 106 where a device that communicates the interiortemperature and/or moisture reading to scanning equipment has beenincorporated into the item in transit 106. In yet another embodiment,the temperature reading 234 may be incorporated into the notificationdata 120 from the scan of the event data 101 and/or the scan data 102where a piece of processing equipment has measured the temperature ofthe item in transit with infrared radiation (IR).

In another embodiment, the notification data 120 may include the weathernotification 235 that relays the weather, temperature, cloud cover, snowdepth, ice conditions, precipitation, wind speed, extreme weatherwarnings, or additional meteorological information. The weathernotification 235 may relay weather information about the location of theitem in transit 106, the location of an upcoming logistical node 114,and/or the destination location 112. For example, if a kidney formedical transplant is to be delivered as the item in transit 106 to adestination location 112 lacking in refrigeration, the scan of the itemin transit 106 at a penultimate logistical node 114 may trigger aresponse data 200 bearing the temperature and cloud cover at thedestination location 112 to help inform the recipient 144 of the urgencyof picking up the kidney before it spoils.

The notification data 120 may also include the custom notification 236.For example, in one embodiment the notification data 120 may include anemail or text message stating “thank you for shopping at Amazon.com®.Your purchase will arrive soon.” The sender and/or the mailing centermay set these custom messages by interacting with the multimodalcommunication server as described in FIG. 5. The notification data 120may also include the audio file 237, which may, for example, speak thecustom notification data 120 to the receiver of the notification data120. In another embodiment, the notification data 120 may include thevideo file. For example, the notification data 120, in conjunction withthe seller 140 who shipped a good to the recipient 144, may include avideo that explains the return policy of a seller 140 or a pre-recordedthank you video message from the CEO of the seller 140.

The response data 200 may also be the electronic document 239, inanother embodiment. The electronic document 239 may be in any format(e.g. .pdf, .doc, .txt) and may include any electronic media contentthat is intended to be used in either an electronic form or as printedoutput. For example, the response data 200 may include a portabledocument format (PDF) file with a receipt or instructions on how tooperate a computer that is being shipped to the recipient 144.

In another embodiment, the response data 200 may include the emailcontent 240, for example text, attachments, and/or pictures. Theresponse data 200 may also include the custom multimedia data 241 thatmay include tailored, unique or prerecorded multimedia files and/orcontent.

In still another embodiment, the response data 200 may be the financialpayment 242. The financial payment 242 may directed toward a party otherthan the sender 140, the mailing center 142 or the recipient 144. Forexample, the financial payment 242 may be instructions a financialinstitution to issue a payment to from one party (e.g. the recipient144) to another party (e.g. the sender 140). In yet another embodiment,the financial payment 242 may be instructions for an escrow to releasethe funds or other property held in escrow to a party.

The response data 200 may also be the request for additional information243. The request for additional information 243 may be a request for aparty, such as the recipient 144, to provide information to anotherparty, such as the sender 140.

The response data 200 may also be the initiating of another physicalmailing 244 from the mailing center 142 or another location. Forexample, the sender 140 may set up a system of payment to the recipient144 such a series check or money order is mailed after a first check ormoney order passes a predetermined logistical node 114.

It should be appreciated that in one embodiment the notification data120 may include a combination of the above-mentioned embodiments of thenotification data 120. For example, in one embodiment the notificationdata 120 may include an email content 240 that is a multimedia file 222combining the text of the email with an audio file 237 attachment thatspeaks a promotional message 221.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of both mailing center server of FIG. 1 (thattemporarily houses the scan data) as well as some of the scan data'sindividual components, according to one embodiment.

Particularly, FIG. 3 illustrates an exploded view of a mail centerserver 350 along with some of the individual components of the scan dataaccording to one embodiment. The embodiment of FIG. 3 further describesa scan database 300, a processor 302, a memory 304, a mailing centername 320, a mailing group name 321, a mailing center location 322, anIMb/IMpb data 323, a sender name 324, a sender zip code 325, a sendercity 326, a sender address 327, a recipient name 328, a recipient zipcode 329, a recipient city 330, a recipient address 331, a serial numberdata 332, a destination data 333, an origin data 334, and time stamp335, a location data 336, an equipment data 337 and a facility data 338.

In one embodiment, the mailing center server 104 may include the scandatabase 300 communicatively coupled with the processor 302 and thememory 304. The scan database may house the event data 101 and the scandata 102 that are generated through scans of the logistical nodes 114and/or the initial scan 116 and/or the final scan 118. The mailingcenter server 104 may be associated with the mailing center 142. In analternate embodiment, the multimodal communication server 100 may beowned or operated by the mailing center 142, the recipient 144, agovernment agency (e.g. the post office) or another person or entity.The scan data 102 and the event data 101 may be accessed by and/orwithdrawn from the scan database 300 by the multimodal communicationserver 100 (e.g. by a FTP upload).

The scan data 102 may include the mailing center name 320 and/or themailing center location 322 of the mailing center that send the item intransit 106. The scan data 102 may also include the mailing group name321. For example, the mailing group name 321 may include the type ofmail communication the item in transit 106 belongs to or is associatedwith.

The scan data 102 may also include the sender name 324, the sender zipcode 325, the sender city 326 and/or the sender address 327. In anotherembodiment, the scan data 102 may also include the recipient name 328,the recipient zip code 329, the recipient city 330 and/or the recipientaddress 331. The sender zip code 325 and the recipient zip code 329 maybe any code that designates a geospatial region. In one embodiment, thesender zip code 325 and the recipient zip code 329 are USPS® Zip+4 zipcodes. The sender name 324 and/or the recipient name 328 may include anyadditional codes used to identify the sender or recipient respectively.

The scan data 102 may also include the serial number data 332. Theserial number data may include any information contained in the serialnumber 108. The scan data 102 may also include the destination data 333,for example the intended destination of the item in transit 106. Thescan data 102 may include an origin data 334 that may include the sourcelocation 110, the location of the sender 140, or the location of themailing center 142.

The event data 101 may include the time stamp 335 of the time and/ordate at which the scan occurred or the scan data 102 and/or the eventdata 101 was generated. In addition, the event data 101 may include thelocation data 336 which may include the location of the last logisticalnode 114 the item in transit 106 encountered or all previous logisticalnodes 114 that the item in transit 106 encountered.

In another embodiment, the event data 101 includes the equipment data337 which may be the information associated with the type of automaticor manual sorting equipment employed at the logistical node 114. Inanother embodiment, the event data 101 may include the facility data 338that may specify the type of facility (e.g. regional distributioncenter, local post office) that the item in transit 106 was scanned at.

FIG. 4 is a bidirectional communication response action view that, inresponse to a scan data, shows the multimodal communication server ofFIG. 2 initializing a first telephone call to a recipient, a secondtelephone call to a sender, and then bridging the connection to create abi-directional communication between the recipient and sender.

Particularly, FIG. 4 illustrates a bi-directional communication responseaction 450 of the multimodal communication server 100. The embodiment ofFIG. 4 further describes an initiation of a first communication 400, afirst telephonic device of the recipient 402, initiation of a secondcommunication 404, a second telephonic device of the sender 406, and abridged connection 408.

In one embodiment, the multimodal communication server 100 initiates thefirst communication 400 through the cellular network 103 to the firsttelephonic device of the recipient 402 as the response action 122. Ifthe recipient's telephonic device does not answer, a different responseaction 122 or response data 200 may be triggered, for example thesending of a text message informing the recipient 144 to get in touchwith the sender 140.

If the recipient 144 does answer, the multimodal communication server100 may initiate the second communication 404 through the cellularnetwork 103 to the second telephonic device of the sender 406. In oneembodiment, if the sender does not answer, the recipient 144 may be sendto the voicemail of the sender 140, the call may be ended, or adifferent response action 122 may be triggered. In addition, in oneembodiment, the recipient 144 faced with an unanswered call may have thesecond telephonic device of the sender 406 re-routed to another locationor party.

In one embodiment, if the sender 140 answers the second communication404 to the second telephonic device of the sender 406, then themultimodal communication server may form the bridged connection 408 suchthat the sender 140 and the recipient 144 may share a telephone call.

It will be appreciated that other live communications may be formedaccording to the procedure of FIG. 4, for example initiating a Skype® orFaceTime® communication or a live chat. The first communication 400 andthe second communication 404 may also be accomplished through thenetwork 109 (e.g. the IP network). In another embodiment, the firstcommunication 400 goes to the sender 140 and the second communication404 goes to the recipient 144.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the setting or modification of event, matchingor response data by the sender and/or mailing center of FIG. 1 withinthe multimodal communication server of FIG. 2, according to oneembodiment. Particularly FIG. 5 illustrates a setting or modification ofevent, matching, or response data view 550. In FIG. 5, the mailingcenter 142 may set or modify record, matching table, and/or responsedata associated with the record 218 of the multimodal communicationserver 100, as described in operation 502. Similarly, the sender 140 mayset or modify record, matching table, or response data in operation 504.A wide range of heterogeneous ones of the carrier 500 may interact withthe multimodal communication server 100. For example, the carrier 500may be different providers such as United Postal Service®, United StatesPostal Service®, and/or Federal Express®. The primary concept describedin FIG. 5 is that the sender 140 and/or the mailing center 142 canmodify the record 218 even when the item in transit 106 has departed anorigin. As such, the response data 200 can be modified in response to amailing of the item in transit based on a business requirement.

FIG. 6 illustrates a table view 650 in which the matching module 210 andthe response module are used to generate the response action 122 basedon an event data 101 associated with a scan data 102, according to oneembodiment. In the scan data 102 and the event data 101 is compared inthe matching table 216 in FIG. 6. Based on a match, the response module200 communicates an appropriate response action 122 based on a responsedata 200, according to one embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates a concept in which a trigger event 700 (e.g., eventdata 101, the initial scan 116, the qr code scan 130, the final scan118, and/or any intermediate scan) is initiated based on a scan ofeither a carrier barcode 702 (e.g., the serial number 108 on the item intransit 106) and/or a reading of a qr code 704 (e.g., physically placedon the item in transit 106) to create a media communication 706. Themedia communication 706 may be the response action 122 as previouslydescribed. The media communication may any one or more of a sendingand/or a receiving of a short text message, a voice message, an email,and a video communication, according to one embodiment.

A system initiates a response action 122 when an event data 101associated with an item in transit 106 between a source location 110 anda destination location 112 based on a scan data 102 of a logistical node114 between the source location 110 and the destination location 112 isdefined in a matching table 216 of a multimodal communication server100.

A method of a multimodal communication server 100 includes processing anevent data 101 associated with an item in transit 106 between a sourcelocation 110 and a destination location 112 based on a scan data 102 ofa logistical node 114 between the source location 110 and thedestination location 112. The method determines if the event data 101associated with the item in transit 106 between the source location 110and the destination location 112 based on the scan data 102 of thelogistical node 114 between the source location 110 and the destinationlocation 112 is associated with a response action 122 defined in amatching table 216 by the multimodal communication server 100 using aprocessor 204 and a memory 206. In addition, the method automaticallyinitiates the response action 122 when the event data 101 associatedwith the item in transit 106 between the source location 110 and thedestination location 112 based on the scan data 102 of the logisticalnode 114 between the source location 110 and the destination location112 is defined in the matching table 216 on the multimodal communicationserver 100.

A method of a multimodal communication server 100 may process a serialnumber 108 and/or a destination data from the scan data 102. A set ofitems of a mailing center 142 may be associated based on the serialnumber 108. A recipient 144 may be associated based on the destinationdata and/or the serial number 108. A response data 200 may be modifiedbased on an action of the mailing center 142 having partitioned accessto a record 218 of the matching table 216 associated with the serialnumber 108 and/or the destination data. An origin data \ may beprocessed from the scan data 102. A sender 140 may be associated basedon the origin data and/or the serial number 108. The response data 200may be modified based on another action of the sender 140 havingpartitioned access to the record 218 of the matching table 216associated with the serial number 108 and/or the destination data 333.

The serial number 108 may identify a mailing center 142 name, a mailinggroup name 321, a mailing center 142 location, and/or a time stamp ofthe item in transit 106. The origin data may identify a sender name 324,a sender zip code 325, a sender city 326, and/or a sender address 327.The destination data may identify a recipient name 328, a recipient zipcode 329, a recipient city 330, and/or a recipient address 331. The itemin transit 106 may include a Quick Response (QR) qr code 107 printed ona packaging of the item in transit 106 that is automatically associatedwith a different response action, wherein the different response actionis a uniform resource locator (URL) address associated with apromotional message 221, a multimedia file 222, an automatic dialing ofthe sender 223, and/or an automatic dialing of the mailing center 224.

The scan data 102 of the logistical node 114 between the source location110 and/or the destination location 112 may include an initial scan 116at the source location 110 and/or a final scan 118 at the destinationlocation 112. A telephonic communication 225 may be established betweenthe recipient 144 and/or the sender 140 based on the response action 122associated with the event data 101. A text message 226 communicated tothe recipient 144 on behalf of the mailing center 142 and/or the sender140 may be generated based on the response action 122 associated withthe event data 101. A stored multimedia data 227 may be communicated tothe recipient 144, the sender 140, and/or the mailing center 142 basedon the response action 122 associated with the event data 101. The textmessage 226 may be an arrival notification 228, an elapsed-timenotification, a time-remaining notification 230, a status notification231, an item condition notification 232, a temperature notification 233,a moisture reading 234, a weather notification 235, and/or a customnotification 236 generated by the sender and/or the mailing center basedon the response action 122 associated with the event data 101.

The stored multimedia data 227 may be an audio file 237, a video file238, an electronic document 239, email content 240, and/or a custommultimedia data 241 generated by the sender 140 and/or the mailingcenter 142 based on the response action 122 associated with the eventdata 101. A first communication 400 between the multimodal communicationserver 100 and/or a first telephonic device of the recipient 402 may beinitiated. The text message 226 and/or the stored multimedia data 227may be generated when the recipient 144 the first communication 400 tothe first telephonic device of the recipient 402 is unanswered. A secondcommunication 404 between the multimodal communication server 100 and/ora second telephonic device of the sender 140 may be initiated when therecipient 144 answers the first communication 400 between the multimodalcommunication server 100 and/or the first telephonic device. The firstcommunication 400 and/or the second communication 404 may be bridged toenable the recipient 144 to communicate with the sender 140 when boththe recipient 144 and/or the sender 140 are communicatively coupled withthe multimodal communication server 100 through the first communication400 and/or the second communication 404 respectively. Once connected,the bridged connection 408 may be formed. A financial payment to themailing center 142 and/or the sender 140 may be automatically initiatedbased on the response action 122 associated with the event data 101.

Additional information from the recipient 144 may be requested based onthe response action 122 associated with the event data 101 when the itemin transit 106 between the source location 110 and/or the destinationlocation 112 is scanned at the logistical node 114 between the sourcelocation 110 and/or the destination location 112. Another physicalmailing of a different item may be automatically initiated from and/orto any one of the sender 140, the recipient 144, the mailing center 142,a different sender, and/or a different recipient based on the responseaction 122 associated with the event data 101 when the item in transit106 between the source and/or the destination is scanned at thelogistical node 114 between the source location 110 and/or thedestination location 112.

A system includes a set of intermediate servers 105 at logistical node114 s between a source location 110 and a destination location 112 tocreate a scan data 102 from the item in transit 106 between the sourcelocation 110 and the destination location 112, a network 109, and amultimodal communication server 100 communicatively coupled with each ofthe set of intermediate servers 105 of logistical nodes 114 between thesource location 110 and the destination location 112 through the network109.

The multimodal communication server 100, may, according to anotherembodiment, determine if the event data 101 associated with an item intransit 106 between the source location 110 and the destination location112 based on the scan data 102 of the logistical node 114 between thesource location 110 and the destination location 112 is associated witha response action 122 defined in a matching table 216 by the multimodalcommunication server 100 using a processor 204 and a memory 206. Inaddition, the multimodal communication server 100 automaticallyinitiates the response action 122 when the event data 101 associatedwith the item in transit 106 between the source location 110 and thedestination location 112 based on the scan data 102 of the logisticalnode 114 between the source location 110 and the destination location112 is defined in the matching table 216 on the multimodal communicationserver 100.

In yet another aspect, a multimodal communication server 100 includes aprocessor 204 communicatively coupled with a memory 206, a matchingmodule 210 to determine if an event data 101 associated with the item intransit 106 between the source location 110 and the destination location112 based on a scan data 102 of the logistical node 114 between thesource location 110 and the destination location 112 is associated witha response action 122 defined in a matching table 216 of the multimodalcommunication server 100 using the processor and the memory 206, and aresponse module to automatically initiate the response action 122 whenthe event data 101 associated with the item in transit 106 between thesource location 110 and the destination location 112 based on the scandata 102 of the logistical node 114 between the source location 110 andthe destination location 112 is defined in the matching table 216 of themultimodal communication server 100.

The multimodal communication server 100 may also include an analysismodule 212 to process a serial number 108 and/or a destination data fromthe scan data 102, to associate a set of items associated with a mailingcenter 142 based on the serial number 108 and to associate a recipient144 based on the destination data and/or the serial number 108. Theanalysis module may also process an origin data from the scan data 102and associate a sender 140 based on the origin data and/or the serialnumber 108.

The multimodal communication server 100 may also have a modificationmodule 214 to modify the response data 200 based on an action of themailing center 142 having partitioned access to a record 218 of thematching table 216 associated with the serial number 108 and/or thedestination data. The modification module may also modify the responsedata 200 based on another action of the sender 140 having partitionedaccess to the record 218 of the matching table 216 associated with theserial number 108 and/or the destination data.

An item in transit (e.g., a letter, a package, a pallet, a perishableitem, a non-perishable item, a medical product) may travel through asystem in a controlled manner between a sender (e.g., a seller) and arecipient (e.g., a customer) of the item in transit, using themultimodal communication server 100. For example, the sender may use amailing center (e.g., a third party logistics provider) to prepare anumber of items to be sent to a group of recipients. A carrier (e.g.,the United States Postal Service®, United Parcel Service®, FedEx®) mayroute the item in transit through a series of logistical nodes (e.g.,intermediate locations between a location of the sender and a locationof the recipient) in a controlled manner such that the multimodalcommunication server 100 is able to direct a flow of information fromthe source location 110 and the destination location 112.

As a result, the recipient 144 may be delighted when things they orderarrive in a predictable time frame, and the recipient 144 has beenapprised of the status of their order through messages from the sender140 via telephone, email, and/or voice message as the item in transitprogressed across each logistical node 114 from the source location 110to the destination location 112. The sender 140 may be able to track andaddress any customer service concerns before they become a larger issue.Further, the sender 140 may be able to customize personal confirmationnotices associated with the item in transit 106. Therefore, therecipient may be extremely satisfied with the service provided by thesender 140.

The recipient 144 may be able to track a present location of the item intransit by receiving frequent updates from the multimodal communicationserver 100. The recipient be alerted that the item in transit is to bereceived. As a result, the recipient 144 is likely to be available toreceive the item in transit 106 when it arrives. Therefore, the item intransit 106 may not be lost, damaged (e.g., by encountering badweather), and/or stolen. Therefore, the sender 140 may gain a valuableopportunity to build a relationship with the recipient as the item intransit 106 moves from the sender 140 to the recipient 144 through thecarrier. Therefore, the recipient 144 may develop trust in the sender140. As a result, valuable current and future revenue opportunitiesbetween the sender 140 and the recipient 144 may be possible.

For example, a new FastPro computer sold by an online computer store,Phil's Computers & More, Inc. may travel through multiple cities in acontrolled manner. For example, Phil's might ship a computer fromPhoenix (e.g., where Phil's is located) to San Francisco, a city inwhich Phil's customer Janice Hodgkins lives using the multimodalcommunication server 100. Phil's may tell Janice every time the FastProcomputer that she has always been waiting for arrives and/or is sentfrom an intermediate node in Yuma, Los Angeles, Fresno, and ultimatelyin San Francisco. Phil's may use different carriers such as (e.g., theUnited States Postal Service®, United Parcel Service®, FedEx®) andautomatically call Janice to give her regular updated on progress of hershipment using the multimodal communication server 100.

As a result, Janice may be delighted when her new FastPro computerarrives in a predictable time frame. Fifteen minutes after receiving hercomputer, Janice may receive a call from Bob Peters, the customerservice manager of Phil's to ask Janice if she has any questions abouther computer that she just received. Janice may be surprised and happythat Phil's took the time to call her in such a timely manner. Phil'smay automatically call Janice's grandma as well, based on theinstructions preset prior to the computer being shipped. Janice may beimpressed. Therefore, she may become a loyal customer of Phil's andrefer the company to all her friends. All this may be possible throughthe various embodiments described in FIGS. 1-7, according to oneembodiment.

Although the present embodiments have been described with reference tospecific example embodiments, it will be evident that variousmodifications and changes may be made to these embodiments withoutdeparting from the broader spirit and scope of the various embodiments.For example, the various devices and modules described herein may beenabled and operated using hardware circuitry (e.g., CMOS based logiccircuitry), firmware, software or any combination of hardware, firmware,and software (e.g., embodied in a machine readable medium). For example,the various electrical structures and methods may be embodied usingtransistors, logic gates, and electrical circuits (e.g., applicationspecific integrated (ASIC) circuitry and/or Digital Signal Processor(DSP) circuitry).

In addition, it will be appreciated that the various operations,processes, and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in amachine-readable medium and/or a machine accessible medium compatiblewith a data processing system. Accordingly, the specification anddrawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictivesense.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of a multimodal communication server,the multimodal communication server being part of a mailing service,comprising: processing, through the multimodal communication server,event data associated with a mailed item in transit between a sourcelocation and a destination location based on scan data of a logisticalnode between the source location and the destination location, thesource location and the destination location comprising a plurality oflogistical nodes therebetween including the logistical node associatedwith the scan data, the scan data and the event data being generatedthrough a scan of a code on the mailed item in transit at the logisticalnode by a set of intermediate servers communicatively coupled to theplurality of logistical nodes, and the set of intermediate servers alsobeing communicatively coupled to the multimodal communication serverthrough a computer network; determining, through the multimodalcommunication server, if the event data associated with the mailed itemin transit between the source location and the destination location isassociated with response actions defined in a matching table of themultimodal communication server using a processor and a memory; inresponse to the determination of the event data being associated with atime notification as a defined response action: determining, through themultimodal communication server, the logistical node as a logisticalnode last encountered by the mailed item in transit; determining,through the multimodal communication server, an amount of time beforethe mailed item in transit is expected to reach a recipient thereof inaccordance with the determined last encountered logistical node; andtransmitting, through the multimodal communication server, data relatedto the determined amount of time before the mailed item in transit isexpected to reach the recipient thereof to a client device of therecipient; determining, through a device incorporated into the maileditem in transit, a temperature reading of an interior of the mailed itemin transit based on infrared radiation; automatically communicating,through the device incorporated into the mailed item in transit, thedetermined temperature reading to scanning equipment associated with thescan data of the logistical node between the source location and thedestination location; incorporating, through the multimodalcommunication server, the communicated temperature reading of theinterior of the mailed item in transit into the scan data of thelogistical node between the source location and the destinationlocation; in response to the determination of the event data beingassociated with a temperature notification as another defined responseaction: transmitting, through the multimodal communication server, datarelated to the determined temperature of the interior of the mailed itemin transit to the client device of the recipient; and transmitting,through the multimodal communication server, data related to weatherinformation about a logistical node encountered by the mailed item intransit to the client device of the recipient when the mailed item is aperishable item whose condition is weather-dependent in accordance withthe event data being associated with a weather notification as yetanother defined response action.
 2. The method of the multimodalcommunication server of claim 1, further comprising: processing, throughthe multimodal communication server, a serial number and a destinationdata from the scan data; associating, through the multimodalcommunication server, a set of items associated with a mailing centerbased on the serial number; associating, through the multimodalcommunication server, the recipient based on at least one of thedestination data and the serial number; and modifying, through themultimodal communication server, a response data based on an action ofthe mailing center having partitioned access to a record of the matchingtable associated with the serial number and the destination data.
 3. Themethod of the multimodal communication server of claim 2, furthercomprising: processing, through the multimodal communication server, anorigin data from the scan data; associating, through the multimodalcommunication server, a sender of the mailed item based on at least oneof the origin data and the serial number; and modifying, through themultimodal communication server, the response data based on anotheraction of the sender having partitioned access to the record of thematching table associated with the serial number and the destinationdata.
 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the serial number identifies atleast one of a mailing center name, a mailing group name, a mailingcenter location, and a time stamp of the mailed item, wherein the origindata identifies at least one of a sender name, a sender zip code, asender city, and a sender address, and wherein the destination dataidentifies at least one of a recipient name, a recipient zip code, arecipient city, and a recipient address.
 5. The method of claim 3,wherein the mailed item in transit includes a Quick Response (QR) codeprinted on a packaging thereof that is automatically associated with adifferent response action, wherein the different response action is atleast one of a uniform resource locator (URL) address associated with apromotional message, a multimedia file, an automatic dialing of thesender, and an automatic dialing of a mailing center, and wherein thescan data of the logistical node between the source location and thedestination location includes an initial scan at the source location anda final scan at the destination location.
 6. The method of claim 3,further comprising: establishing, through the multimodal communicationserver, a telephonic communication between the recipient and the senderbased on a defined response action associated with the event data;generating, through the multimodal communication server, a text messageto be communicated to the recipient on behalf of at least one of amailing center and the sender based on the defined response actionassociated with the event data; and communicating, through themultimodal communication server, stored multimedia data to at least oneof the recipient, the sender, and the mailing center based on thedefined response action associated with the event data, wherein the textmessage is at least one of an arrival notification, an elapsed-timenotification, a status notification, an item condition notification, amoisture reading, and a custom notification generated by the at leastone of the mailing center and the sender based on the defined responseaction associated with the event data, and wherein the stored multimediadata is at least one of an audio file, a video file, an electronicdocument, an email content, and a custom multimedia data generated bythe at least one of the mailing center and the sender based on thedefined response action associated with the event data.
 7. The method ofclaim 6, wherein the establishment of the bidirectional telephoniccommunication between the recipient and the sender further comprises:initiating a first communication between the multimodal communicationserver and a first telephonic device of the recipient; generating atleast one of the text message and the stored multimedia data when therecipient is unresponsive to the first communication through the firsttelephonic device; initiating a second communication between themultimodal communication server and a second telephonic device of thesender when the recipient responds to the first communication throughthe first telephonic device thereof; and bridging the firstcommunication and the second communication to enable the recipient tocommunicate with the sender when both the recipient and the sender arecommunicatively coupled with the multimodal communication server basedon the first communication and the second communication respectively. 8.The method of claim 3, further comprising: automatically initiating,through the multimodal communication server, a financial payment to atleast one of the mailing center and the sender based on a definedresponse action associated with the event data; requesting, through themultimodal communication server, additional information from therecipient based on the defined response action associated with the eventdata when the mailed item in transit between the source and thedestination is scanned at the logistical node between the sourcelocation and the destination location; and automatically initiating,through the multimodal communication server, another physical mailing ofa different item from and to any one of the sender, the recipient, themailing center, a different sender and a different recipient based onthe defined response action associated with the event data when themailed item in transit between the source and the destination is scannedat the logistical node between the source location and the destinationlocation.
 9. A system, comprising: a set of intermediate servers atlogistical nodes between a source location and a destination location tocreate scan data from a mailed item in transit between the sourcelocation and the destination location; a computer network; a multimodalcommunication server communicatively coupled with the set ofintermediate servers through the computer network, the multimodalcommunication server being part of a mailing service, and the multimodalcommunication server being configured to: process event data associatedwith the mailed item in transit between the source location and thedestination location based on the created scan data, the scan data andthe event data being generated through a scan of a code on the maileditem in transit at a logistical node by the set of intermediate servers,determine if the event data associated with the mailed item in transitbetween the source location and the destination location is associatedwith response actions defined in a matching table of the multimodalcommunication server using a processor and a memory, and in response tothe determination of the event data being associated with a timenotification as a defined response action: determine the logistical nodeas a logistical node last encountered by the mailed item in transit,determine an amount of time before the mailed item in transit isexpected to reach a recipient thereof in accordance with the determinedlast encountered logistical node, and transmit data related to thedetermined amount of time before the mailed item in transit is expectedto reach the recipient thereof to a client device of the recipient, adevice incorporated into the mailed item in transit, the device beingconfigured to determine a temperature reading of an interior of themailed item in transit based on infrared radiation, and to automaticallycommunicate the determined temperature reading to scanning equipmentassociated with the scan data of the logistical node between the sourcelocation and the destination location, wherein the multimodalcommunication server is further configured to: incorporate thecommunicated temperature reading of the interior of the mailed item intransit into the scan data of the logistical node between the sourcelocation and the destination location, in response to the determinationof the event data being associated with a temperature notification asanother defined response action: transmit data related to the determinedtemperature reading of the interior of the mailed item in transit to theclient device of the recipient, and transmit data related to weatherinformation about a logistical node encountered by the mailed item intransit to the client device of the recipient when the mailed item is aperishable item whose condition is weather-dependent in accordance withthe event data being associated with a weather notification as yetanother defined response action.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein themultimodal communication server is further configured to: process aserial number and a destination data from the scan data, associate a setof items associated with a mailing center based on the serial number,associate the recipient based on at least one of the destination dataand the serial number, and modify a response data based on an action ofthe mailing center having partitioned access to a record of the matchingtable associated with the serial number and the destination data. 11.The system of claim 10, wherein the multimodal communication server isfurther configured to: process an origin data from the scan data,associate a sender of the mailed item based on at least one of theorigin data and the serial number, and modify the response data based onanother action of the sender having partitioned access to the record ofthe matching table associated with the serial number and the destinationdata.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein the serial number identifiesat least one of a mailing center name, a mailing group name, a mailingcenter location, and a time stamp of the mailed item in transit, whereinthe origin data identifies at least one of a sender name, a sender zipcode, a sender city, and a sender address, and wherein the destinationdata identifies at least one of a recipient name, a recipient zip code,a recipient city, and a recipient address.
 13. The system of claim 11,wherein the mailed item in transit includes a QR code printed on apackaging thereof that is automatically associated with a differentresponse action, wherein the different response action is at least oneof a URL address associated with a promotional message, a multimediafile, an automatic dialing of the sender, and an automatic dialing of amailing center, and wherein the scan data includes an initial scan atthe source location and a final scan at the destination location. 14.The system of claim 11, wherein the multimodal communication server isfurther configured to: establish a telephonic communication between therecipient and the sender based on a defined response action associatedwith the event data, generate a text message to be communicated to therecipient on behalf of at least one of a mailing center and the senderbased on the defined response action associated with the event data, andcommunicate stored multimedia data to at least one of the recipient, thesender, and the mailing center based on the defined response actionassociated with the event data, wherein the text message is at least oneof an arrival notification, an elapsed-time notification, a statusnotification, an item condition notification, a moisture reading, and acustom notification generated by at least one of the mailing center andthe sender based on the defined response action associated with theevent data, and wherein the stored multimedia data is at least one of anaudio file, a video file, an electronic document, an email content, anda custom multimedia data generated by at least one of the mailing centerand the sender based on the defined response action associated with theevent data.
 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the multimodalcommunication server is further configured to: initiate a firstcommunication between the multimodal communication server and a firsttelephonic device of the recipient, generate at least one of the textmessage and the stored multimedia data when the recipient isunresponsive to the first communication through the first telephonicdevice, initiate a second communication between the multimodalcommunication server and a second telephonic device of the sender whenthe recipient responds to the first communication through the firsttelephonic device thereof, and bridge the first communication and thesecond communication to enable the recipient to communicate with thesender when both the recipient and the sender are communicativelycoupled with the multimodal communication server based on the firstcommunication and the second communication respectively.
 16. The systemof claim 11, wherein the multimodal communication server is furtherconfigured to: automatically initiate a financial payment to at leastone of the mailing center and the sender based on a defined responseaction associated with the event data, request additional informationfrom the recipient based on the defined response action associated withthe event data when the mailed item in transit between the source andthe destination is scanned, and automatically initiate another physicalmailing of a different item from and to any one of the sender, therecipient, the mailing center, a different sender, and a differentrecipient based on the defined response action associated with the eventdata when the mailed item in transit between the source and thedestination is scanned.
 17. A multimodal communication server, themultimodal communication server being part of a mailing service,comprising: a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to thememory, the processor being configured to execute instructions to:process event data associated with a mailed item in transit between asource location and a destination location based on scan data of alogistical node between the source location and the destinationlocation, the source location and the destination location comprising aplurality of logistical nodes therebetween including the logistical nodeassociated with the scan data, the scan data and the event data beinggenerated through a scan of a code on the mailed item in transit at thelogistical node by a set of intermediate servers communicatively coupledto the plurality of logistical nodes, and the set of intermediateservers also being communicatively coupled to the multimodalcommunication server through a computer network, determine if the eventdata associated with the mailed item in transit between the sourcelocation and the destination location is associated with responseactions defined in a matching table of the multimodal communicationserver, in response to the determination of the event data beingassociated with a time notification as a defined response action:determine the logistical node as a logistical node last encountered bythe mailed item in transit, determine an amount of time before themailed item in transit is expected to reach a recipient thereof inaccordance with the determined last encountered logistical node, andtransmit data related to the determined amount of time before the maileditem in transit is expected to reach the recipient thereof to a clientdevice of the recipient, enable determining, through a deviceincorporated into the mailed item in transit, a temperature reading ofan interior of the mailed item in transit based on infrared radiation,enable automatic communication, through the device incorporated into themailed item in transit, the determined temperature reading to scanningequipment associated with the scan data of the logistical node betweenthe source location and the destination location, incorporate thecommunicated temperature reading of the interior of the mailed item intransit into the scan data of the logistical node between the sourcelocation and the destination location, in response to the determinationof the event data being associated with a temperature notification asanother defined response action: transmit data related to the determinedtemperature reading of the interior of the mailed item in transit to theclient device of the recipient, and transmit data related to weatherinformation about a logistical node encountered by the mailed item intransit to the client device of the recipient when the mailed item is aperishable item whose condition is weather-dependent in accordance withthe event data being associated with a weather notification as yetanother defined response action.
 18. The multimodal communication serverof claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to executeinstructions to: process a serial number and a destination data from thescan data, associate a set of items associated with a mailing centerbased on the serial number, associate the recipient based on at leastone of the destination data and the serial number, process an origindata from the scan data, associate a sender of the mailed item based onat least one of the origin data and the serial number, modify a responsedata based on an action of the mailing center having partitioned accessto a record of the matching table associated with the serial number andthe destination data, and modify the response data based on anotheraction of the sender having partitioned access to the record of thematching table associated with the serial number and the destinationdata.
 19. The multimodal communication server of claim 18, wherein theserial number identifies at least one of a mailing center name, amailing group name, a mailing center location, and a time stamp of themailed item, wherein the origin data identifies at least one of a sendername, a sender zip code, a sender city, and a sender address, andwherein the destination data identifies at least one of a recipientname, a recipient zip code, a recipient city, and a recipient address.20. The multimodal communication server of claim 18, wherein the maileditem in transit includes a QR code printed on a packaging thereof thatis automatically associated with a different response action, whereinthe different response action is at least one of a URL addressassociated with a promotional message, a multimedia file, an automaticdialing of the sender, and an automatic dialing of a mailing center, andwherein the scan data of the logistical node between the source locationand the destination location includes an initial scan at the sourcelocation and a final scan at the destination location.